The present invention generally relates to bulk packaging and display of articles for sale and, more particularly, to a container and packaging arrangement for shipping and displaying irregularly shaped articles, such as packaged batteries, for sale to consumers.
The common practice for displaying small and lightweight retail items, such as alkaline batteries, is to package the items in thermoformed blister card packages and place the blister card packages on shelves or hang the packages on hooks on various display racks. The conventional blister card battery package is composed of a display card which provides a generally stiff supportive backing, usually composed of cardboard, and a thermoformed polymeric blister that is typically heat sealed or otherwise connected to the display card. The display card provides support for displaying the merchandise for sale and contains print and graphics with suitable indicia such as trademarks, advertising, and instructions. The thermoformed blister generally comprises one or more pieces of clear polymeric material, e.g., plastic, that defines a compartment, generally having a shape to fit over and cover the product(s) contained within the package. The blister package isolates the product(s) from the purchaser and prevents inadvertent damage that can result from repeated handling prior to sale, while further allowing for the orderly display of product(s) for sale to consumers.
Blister card packages for containing batteries, as well as other types of products, typically form irregularly shaped articles, since the polymeric blister, which is generally located at one end, is much greater in front-to-rear depth than the display card that extends throughout the remainder of the package. As a result, the blister card package has a lop-sided configuration which makes it difficult to efficiently package bulk articles for shipment from the article manufacturing facility to a promotional display location, such as a retail store, where the packaged articles are placed on display trays or racks for display and sale to consumers.
It has been common practice for irregularly shaped blister card packages to be shipped in bulk in rectangular cardboard shipping containers with the blister card packages arranged in a staggered reverse orientation in which the narrow part of one package is juxtaposed with the wide part of an adjacent package to minimize volume consumption. However, when the shipping container is opened at the retail store to display the packages, the blister packages must be individually handled by store personnel to place the individual packages on the display trays or display racks. The manual handling includes arranging the individual packages so that the packages are oriented in the same direction and the graphics on each display card are displayed to face the consumers. The conventional approach for displaying irregularly shaped packaged products therefore involves manual handling which is generally time consuming and costly. Additionally, the shipping container is generally discarded once the blister card packages are manually relocated for display on the display trays or racks.
Accordingly, there is a need, heretofore unfulfilled, for a relatively inexpensive and easy to use container for shipping and displaying packaged products for sale and display to consumers in a manner that minimizes or eliminates the manual handling of individual articles, and offers efficient use of space. There is a further need to provide for such a container for shipping and displaying blister card packages, such as those containing batteries, which have an irregularly shaped package configuration.